Shhhh...it's not a library

Hopkins placed a significant emphasis on sound and its significance in the overall aura of a place. In particular, he advocated silence. He referred to Oxford’s ‘cloistral hush’ and how it created a sense of “closeness to nature” (617). The silence Hopkins describes coaxes the observer into a state of reverence, not only for nature but for past civilization. The stone structures surrounding the quadrangle echo only the “quiet footsteps of twenty generations” (615), heightening the silence. This overwhelming void of sound provides an environment conducive to meditation and clear thought, which is why so many write about the effects of the Oxford environment on the individual.


Our experience sitting outside of Sutton Hall provides an example of the power of sound (or lack thereof) in an environment. As Professor Bump remarked upon the intensity of our focus in connecting the architectural influences of Salamanca to our surroundings, Crystal noted the juxtaposition of our immediate environment with the city near by. Though the sound of traffic and horns honking was faint, distant, and muted by the nature around us, it reminded us of bustle of the world around us, the anxiety and haste of our everyday lives. Whichever environment we consider our reality, the presence of that one was inescapable, and tempted our thoughts away from our papers.

But it isn’t the sound that we attempt to escape in seeking a place conducive to our creativity, it’s the cacophony of the man-made world. The sounds that we respond well to, the sounds that we seek when creating an environment to study or to compose have soothing qualities. Rhythmic, soft, natural sounds bolster our creativity, such as the "cuckoo-echoing, bell-swarmed, lark charmed" noises of nature that Hopkins refers to in his poetry (619). Our most beloved architecture, such as the buildings and stone walls that make up the campus of Oxford, always either places a frame around nature, taking a back seat to the natural environment, or heighten its soothing effects. The giant stone walls definitely draw the eye away from the grass and shrubbery, but as Hopkins noted, the walls make the silence more awesome. The way the wind rushes through, the way the tiniest whisper reverberates throughout the structure enforces a powerful “hush” on man. Surrounded by great stone walls, we feel the need to whisper whether we are alone or not.


http://www.cwrl.utexas.edu/~bump/oxford/aj/exeter.htm
The great stone walls of Exeter College evoking a solemnity conducive to quiet reflection and meditation.


http://www.cwrl.utexas.edu/~bump/oxford/aj/exeter.htm

Though we don’t live in Oxford, we students still seek the same meditative experiences when trying to study. This sense of hushed reverence, hearing at most the footsteps of the generations is something we look for in places like Waller Creek. Surrounded by urbanization, we are extremely limited in our selection of escapes. I imagine this is why students like Gypsy were willing to die for a place. In Jones’ history of the Waller Creek protests, he also acknowledges the effect of noise and how it reminds us of the “overcrowded…haste-harried, greed-ridden, indifferent-seeming society” in which we live (745). As this noise encroached further and further upon the students on campus, they felt a need to cling on to their last ties nature, which are almost nonexistent now. This lack of nature and current condition of Waller Creek proves the futility of their efforts against the onslaught of industry and urbanization.


http://www.austinparks.org/images/WallerCreekErosion.jpg
The erosion and pollution of Waller Creek due to increased impervious cover nullifies its soothing qualities.